High hopes for Burj Khalifa’s youngest visitor

DUBAI // The Burj Khalifa may have set another record yesterday when Afif Hanna, a five-day-old boy, visited the 124th floor.

Amjad Hanna and Maram Haddad show Afif the view from the 124th floor. Jaime Puebla / The National

Afif’s parents, Amjad Hanna and Maram Haddad, said they took him to visit the observation deck of the world’s tallest building because it represented the sky-high ambitions they had for their first child. “If he can achieve the highest point in the world in five days, hopefully he can achieve much more,” said Mr Hanna. “I want him to be a big man.”

Mr Hanna, a Jordanian who grew up in Dubai, hopes his son will become “the most powerful man in the world” or a pilot – a profession he himself once aspired to but could not afford to pursue. He said he had already given his son a toy airplane and opened a savings account to help fund a “very, very good education”.

Emaar said it did not track the age of its passengers but added that Afif was the youngest they were aware of.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors have taken the lift to the observation deck since its opening in January, including heads of state.

Afif, however, may be the only visitor to have slept through the experience.